San Francisco, CA-based Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) is to acquire a majority ownership stake in Tidal, the global music and entertainment platform that brings fans and artists together through music, content, and experiences.
Square expects to pay a mix of cash and stock of $297m for a significant majority ownership stake, and existing artist shareholders will be the remaining stakeholders.
The acquisition extends Square’s purpose of economic empowerment to musicians. Tidal will operate independently within Square, alongside the Seller and Cash App ecosystems.
Tidal is a music service built by artists, for artists, which offers a premier listening experience, with an extensive catalog of more than 70 million songs and 250,000 high-quality videos. Tidal has a global presence with listeners in more than 56 countries and relationships with more than 100 labels and distributors. Jesse Dorogusker, a Square executive, will serve as interim lead of Tidal upon the closing of the transaction. Tidal board member and shareholder Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter is expected to join Square’s Board of Directors subject to the closing of the transaction. In addition to JAY-Z, all of Tidal’s artist shareholders will continue to be co-owners of Tidal after the deal closes.
Led by Jack Dorsey, cofounder and CEO, Square builds tools to empower businesses and individuals to participate in the economy. Sellers use Square to reach buyers online and in person, manage their business, and access financing. And individuals use Cash App to spend, send, store, and invest money. Square has offices in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Ireland, Spain, and the UK.
FinSMEs
05/03/2021